[ 2016-10-28 ]

US Customs and Ghana Revenue Authority sign MoU

By Belinda Ayamgha, GNA

Accra, Oct. 27, GNA - The United States Customs
and Border Protection and the Ghana Revenue
Authority (GRA) have signed a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU), which would see the two
institutions exchange customs expertise.

The MoU was signed by the visiting Commissioner of
the US Customs and Border Protection, Mr Gil
Kerlikowske on behalf of the United States and Mr
John Vianney Kuudamnuru, Commissioner of the
Customs Division of the GRA for Ghana.

The signing builds on the existing partnership
between the two agencies, which has culminated in
more than 100 Ghanaian border patrol personnel
being trained by their US counterparts in 2016.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, part of
activities during his two-day tour of Ghana, Mr
Kerlikowske said the MoU would provide a framework
on which to further strengthen the partnership
with Ghana.

“This memorandum of understanding is
particularly helpful in many ways for continuing
what is a robust and important trade relationship
between two customs authorities” he stated,
adding it would also support other efforts that
were just as important to both the governments of
Ghana and the United States.

These efforts include anti-narcotics, combating
human trafficking, and smuggling of hazardous
materials.

He noted that the signing of the MoU, not only
provided a strong foundation to continue building
the capacity of Ghanaian officials, but also for
officials of the US to gain new insights,
information and knowledge.

The MoU also provides a framework for the
implementation of the Security Governance
Initiative (SGI), initiated by the US in 2014 and
which provides assistance to Ghana and five other
West African Nations in several areas.

In Ghana these areas include cyber security and
cybercrime, maritime security and land border
management challenges.

The MoU thus allows the US Customs and Border
Protection to assist its Ghanaian counterpart in
the area of border security and integrated border
management over the next three years.

“We’re going to provide technical assistance,
capacity building, some of the lessons that we
have learned and some of our best practices in
this important joint cooperation, and we expect to
deploy an advisor to be able to assist in many of
these areas.”

The MoU would work seamlessly to ensure safety and
security for both nations.

Interacting with the media at a roundtable
following the signing ceremony, Mr Kerlikowske
said his outfit would liaise with the GRA to
identify the specific areas where the assistance
would be needed and then proceed from there.

He expressed the importance of information sharing
among the two agencies, especially in light of the
inherent difficulty in defining and securing
borders.

“Borders are very hard to secure and nobody has
a good definition of what’s a secure border;
that’s why sharing information between countries
about people or goods that may be a threat is a
huge step forward in making either countries
safer” he noted.

Mr Kuudamnuru, noted that the US Customs
administration, and other US Agencies, had already
provided numerous capacity building and training
programmes to the GRA, during its long-standing
partnership.

“The two administrations have also exchanged
critical intelligence and logistical support as
part of the global effort to stem the
ever-increasing menace of international narcotics
drug trade and trafficking,” he noted.

He said the signing of the MoU concretised the
existing efforts of the two customs
administrations and committed both parties to
share customs expertise in narcotics trafficking,
human trafficking, smuggling of hazardous
materials, capacity building and technical
assistance and other areas of interest to both
parties.

Source - GNA

... go Back